


Stripping Away the Layers

by shadowshrike



Series: A Royal Pain [2]
Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Innuendo, implied pining, in a purely physical way, malicious flirting, preparing for bed, stubborn Xander
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2020-02-08 12:51:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18623653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowshrike/pseuds/shadowshrike
Summary: Niles is asked to take on Laslow's duties after a battle leaves many of Nohr's retainers too injured to work. Unfortunately, Xander seems like he isn't going to make this easy.





	Stripping Away the Layers

**Author's Note:**

> Life has been rough lately, which has kept me from writing. Of course, my warm up to get back into it is not another chapter of one of my many long fics, but more of this strange verse. I hope you have half as much fun reading about this odd relationship as I do writing it.

To say that their pivotal battle today was a disaster would have been a gross understatement. Although Nohr had not lost the clash in the strictest sense of the word, both sides having suffered equal casualties, a stalemate with half of Nohr's retainers too injured to tend to their lieges could hardly be considered a victory. Only Elise's and Leo's left the day mostly unscathed, the former because they were under strict orders to keep her away from the fighting, and the latter due to already being on the backlines, ready for a quick retreat. 

Unfortunately, that meant the four remaining retainers had to take on the roles of eight. Effie had been sent to assist Camilla once they returned, a duty that became more sitting with her at the bedside of Selena and Beruka than tending to the princess herself. As for Xander, Leo had sent Niles to assist in his post-battle routine. There was less worry in the young prince's voice than Niles had expected when he gave the order, offering a half-spun explanation that Xander hardly needed retainers as it was. This was a mere formality. He considered it thoughtful, but unnecessary, gesture between family members which would only prove what Leo already knew - his big brother was invincible.

Niles didn't fully understand why Leo would bother if he already knew the outcome. Of course, as a mere retainer, he wasn't being asked to understand. If watching over the straight-laced eldest prince would satisfy one of his liege's tender-hearted compulsions he so desperately tried to hide, then Niles would embrace the suffering without complaint.

Truthfully, when Niles walked into Xander's quarters to take over the duty of stripping his armor like the skittish morsel who doted on the crown prince usually did, he had half expected to find Xander already in his night clothes, barking a sharp command to leave him alone in place of a greeting. That turned out to be far from the truth. Xander sat hunched over his desk, furiously scribbling at something (a map?) with a crease deeper than the bottomless canyon in his brow. He hadn't so much as removed the sash from his armor yet. He also didn't respond to Niles stepping into the room, fully focused on his feverish quill strokes instead, writing like a man possessed. Or perhaps, like a man desperate to atone.

Niles had seen this behavior often enough to recognize it. Not from the crown prince, of course, but his own liege. If a spell went awry in the thick of battle, this was often how Leo reacted when they returned home - obsessing over details and throwing himself into his books until exhaustion and bloody fingertips or his retainers' nagging won over his mortification at his own failure. The same mania lurked in Xander's flyaway curls and sloppy pen strokes as did in Leo’s messy bangs and paper cuts on his fingers. Niles was starting to suspect this hysterical drive for perfection might be a blood-borne illness from the half heritage they shared. Whatever it was, ‘healthy’ seemed a far cry from how anyone would describe the crown prince right now

In the end, it didn't matter. Niles has been sent to complete a job, and he always delivered on his promises to his liege.

“A handsome man like you must know a crown prince shouldn't skip out on his beauty sleep, Lord Xander,” Niles quipped from the doorway. 

Finally, Xander seemed to notice him, pen leaving a blotch of ink where it stilled over the pages he had been marking. He didn't startle, not like Niles had hoped he would anyhow, but gears turned sluggishly behind eyes that had lost their sharp edge as they lifted to peer at him. “Niles. Leo sent you?”

“Yes, milord. I was asked to take over your retainer's duties for the evening. Primarily relieving you of all that armor and inviting you to bed. I've heard that new retainer of yours does a thorough job, and I'd hate to disappoint.” Xander blinked sluggishly with quill still in hand, the innuendo scarcely processing. “...careful. Squeeze that shaft any harder and it may pop.”

That finally startled the prince into action. He dropped his pen as though it burned him, ruining the document with flecks of ink that flew off. Realizing his mistake too late, Xander's eyes flicked down to the page. He began tidying his work area, hiding his embarrassment behind an annoyed glower. “I hadn't intended to go to bed with so much left undone.”

Niles crossed his arms, not offering to help with the cleanup. He suspected Xander was as particular with his papers as Leo was with his bookshelves - Niles would only get in the way if he tried to assist. “Forgive me my bluntness, but you appear to be in no state to work, Lord Xander.”

“Perhaps you are right,” Xander admitted, setting the quill on its rest.

“I hadn't expected our crown prince would be so easy to coax into bed,” Niles hummed, a sultry smile spreading as he took a step closer.

“...but I'm afraid resting is out of the question tonight,” Xander continued before Niles’ smirk could grow any wider.

Frustrated, the downy-haired man's lips dropped immediately back into a frown. “I have orders to tend to you as your retainer for the evening. I cannot leave you like this.”

“I understand, and I will allow you to help me with my armor, so you can report to Leo you have done your duty. You needn't concern yourself with my sleep,” Xander reassured. With the final papers filed away and the deck clear, he beckoned Niles into the center of the room. Gesturing to the straps under his arms, he held them out for inspection. “The buckles are there. You can set the plate in that corner when you are done. I will put it away myself.”

The frown hadn't left Niles’ face as he began unfastening the crown prince's armor as instructed. The pieces were heavy, far heavier than Leo's due to Xander's broader build, yet still lighter than Niles expected. Intrigued, he couldn't resist a fleeting grope at the muscle beneath, enough to appreciate his strength up close but not so greedy as to attract suspicion. 

Firm. That was his initial impression. Not rigid like metal forged in heat and under hammer, but the hardness of a man stranded at sea for months who had happened upon a beautiful mermaid. For someone who pretended to be made of stone, it was somehow relieving to confirm there was only flesh and blood beneath the metal.

Flesh and blood that refused to acknowledge the limitations of its humanity. Only a prince would be so arrogant to pretend he could will himself past needing sleep. Niles tried again, not out of affection for the crown prince, but commitment to his own liege, “I can fetch you a sleeping draught if the battle keeps you awake, Lord Xander. It works quickly, painlessly and always gives a long rest without dreams.”

“Is that what you do for my brother?”

Truthfully, Niles only knew of the potion due to his own troubled evenings. Even he could only go without a good night’s sleep for so long, and the nightmares never allowed for much rest. He’d offered it once to Leo, but the young prince always refused anything which might dull his senses.

Shouldn’t Xander know something so basic about his little brother? That he wouldn’t allow anyone to cloud his mind so directly?

Annoyance clipped Niles’ reply, “Do you always ask others about your siblings rather than talking to them yourself? No, this is not a draught Leo uses.” 

Xander tensed under Niles’ hands, and the retainer wondered for a moment if he'd waded too far into shark-infested waters. Niles had been here long enough to know questioning Xander's bizarre, estranged relationship with his siblings was dangerous business. A tongue lashing was the least one could expect who got between him and Leo.

But Xander didn't shove Niles away or throw him out. He only sighed, so deeply that the movement almost caused Niles to drop the pauldron he was trying to remove. “I am glad Leo has someone so loyal to protect him,” the prince admitted. “Although I understand you do not approve of my methods, I assure you it is better for me to watch over them this way.”

“Better for whom?” Niles shot back, emboldened by Xander's lack of fight.

“Better for him. And for Nohr,” Xander replied. His eyes remained fixed on the rug at their feet, pain lacing through his words that Niles did not understand or appreciate.

This was the crown prince, second only to the king. How dare he feel something like  _ pity _ for himself? Xander could demand anything in the world and have it with a snap of his fingers, yet he had the audacity to pretend he was suffering from this self-induced separation from his brother? Meanwhile, Niles’ liege begged for the attention and respect of his elder siblings, only to be turned away for the good of Nohr or whatever other nonsense they dreamed up.

The ugly urge to hurt clawed its way from Niles’ twisted heart to nimble fingers and a sharp tongue. He could not harm Xander, he reminded himself. Not without violating his liege's orders. Heedless of the pain it caused him, Leo loved his brother truly and deeply, idolized him even, and Niles didn't want to know what would happen if he had to choose between his retainer or following Xander's orders to dismiss him.

Making Xander uncomfortable, however, remained fair game. A game he would play to completion if he could. Sinking to his knees, Niles busied himself with removing Xander's greaves, this time letting his hands linger on ropey calves long enough that the prince was sure to notice.

“Well, if a sleeping draught is not to your liking, there are many other ways to help a man relax,” Niles purred, peering up through his bangs at Xander with a single, clear blue eye.

The prudish prince cleared his throat but didn't shove him away while Niles’ fingers were still tangled in his armor. “...and what do you mean by that?”

Damn. Prince Xander knew him well enough to call him on his bluff. He was too clever to allow his own imagination to be used against him; it seemed Niles would need to push his luck being more explicit if he wanted to get a rise out of the man.  _ In either sense _ , he thought smugly.

“You may leave the 'indulging’ to your sister, but I'm sure you know exactly what I mean,” Niles pressed. His hands slid behind a thigh, squeezing the powerful muscle there before undoing the next buckle.

Xander's lips tightened into a thin line. “I'm certain I would rather try my luck with natural methods.”

“But this is most natural, Lord Xander. Or are you feeling reservations because I'm a man?” Niles teased, tossing aside another piece of armor. “You can close your eyes if it will help you pretend I'm whatever pretty girl has caught your eye.”

A dusting of pink had caught along Xander’s cheeks. “That isn't the issue!”

“Not the issue? My apologies, Lord Xander, I never knew you fancied men. Don’t worry, I’m the same. Your dirty little secret is safe in my capable hands,” Niles lilted with a huge grin. The last piece of armor clanged as it hit the floor. “Let me help relieve you of your burdens.” Now, all he had to do is slip his fingers beneath the hem of Xander’s shirt and…

A powerful hand engulfing his wrist stopped Niles from touching the royal skin. “That is quite enough.”

Niles’ eye darted upwards to see that the flush from a moment earlier was nowhere to be found. In fact, the crown prince seemed more amused than embarrassed, with the corner of his mouth turned so slightly upwards that Niles wondered if it was a figment of his imagination. 

His surprise must have been written all over his face because Xander continued talking, “I never thought I would be able to make you, of all people, speechless. It was a valiant attempt at seduction, Niles, but hardly the first I’ve faced. Do you truly think no one has tried to woo the crown prince of Nohr before as a means to an end?”

Niles scoffed, retrieving his hand with a quick jerk. He rubbed at where his wrist still felt phantom fingers squeezing. “In my time within the palace, I have never known you to take a lover.”

“That is because I haven’t,” Xander admitted. “By choice. And I have no intention of changing that because my brother’s retainer is angry with me for some reason.”

“What makes you think I’m angry?”

“Because you only so boldly proposition those you hate,” Xander reasoned while straightening his tunic. “And because I have a sense about these things. A man doesn’t last long in my position without the ability to sniff out danger.”

Niles rocked back on his heels, glaring up at the prince. If there was one thing he hated as much as people hurting his liege, it was people who claimed to see through him. The fact Xander was correct only made his unfeeling gaze more humiliating to bear.

“No retort?” Silence answered Xander’s inquisitive tone. “Then thank you for your help tonight. I will be certain to send Leo a commendation for your service in distracting me from that atrocious battle.”

“...think nothing of it, Lord Xander,” Niles grumbled back as he returned to standing.

Xander’s clasp of his shoulder was almost kind; it made the retainer want to recoil in revulsion. “Don’t look so glum, Niles. If it was easy to find my weaknesses, I would not be an adequate crown prince. If you wish to test me again another day, I welcome the challenge.”

Niles was so frustrated with his failure, that he only mumbled a quick affirmative and retreated from the room before those last words fully processed. It wasn’t until he had tucked his own liege in for the night that it struck him like one of Odin’s lightning bolts between the eyes.

“Was Prince Xander...daring me to pursue him again?”

In another corner of the castle, Xander stared at his mirror, gingerly poking at the bruised chest he had barely managed to keep secret by grabbing Niles’ hand in time. As if the war wasn’t enough, his little brother’s retainer had to continue making matters more complicated. He needed to put the thought of cruel smiles and hungry hands from his mind before he gave in to the same temptations as Camilla.

Xander’s silent prayers that Laslow and Peri would recover soon doubled in intensity that night.


End file.
